As lawmakers prepare to head back to session next week, questions return about how to pay for climate change solutions proposed by Gov. Wes Moore.
In December 2023, the Maryland Department of Environment, MDE, released its Climate Pollution Reduction Plan with the goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions 60% by 2031 and creating a path to net-zero emissions by 2045. MDE estimates it will cost $1 billion annually to achieve those goals, but in the nearly 100-page plan, a funding mechanism is not included.
“We have a $1 billion price tag, and we don’t have $1 billion today,” MDE Secretary Serena McIlwain said at the time. “We just have to figure out a way to pay for it.”
Fast forward about a year: 25 state agencies released their proposals to implement the climate goals outlined in the report from 2023. The agency plans include over 100 priority actions to meet the state’s climate goals, according to an MDE news release. Some of those actions include workforce development for installing clean appliances like heat pumps, electrifying vehicle fleets, making state buildings more energy efficient and diversifying the state’s energy portfolio.
Some agencies, like MDE itself, note that current staff could be repurposed to prioritize the new plans. But there are still gaps in funding sources for all of the proposals.
“Many of the proposed actions will require additional resources to implement,” the Department of Natural Resources agency report said.
The agency plans got the attention of Del. Kathy Szeliga, a Baltimore County Republican, who posted on social media that she believes Gov. Moore should cut the plan, noting the price tag and the state’s growing budget deficit.
However, the climate plan does not include $1 billion in new taxes. Currently, funding for the plans has not been fully identified. While it’s possible tax increases could be proposed during the next legislative session, that has yet to happen.
“Governor Moore has taken several steps to advance climate action, including most recently requiring all state agencies to develop plans for workforce development, energy efficiency and electrifying vehicle fleets,” a spokesperson for MDE told FOX45 News in a statement. “Claims that the governor proposed or enacted any new taxes are completely false.”
When asked for a statement regarding funding sources, a spokesperson for Gov. Wes Moore’s office pointed FOX45 News back to the MDE statement.
Lawmakers will be forced to grapple with the growing budget deficit; latest projects indicate the state is facing a nearly $3 billion deficit for budget year 2026, and that is only expected to grow if nothing else changes. The General Assembly Session begins Jan. 8 and runs 90 days.
Have a news tip? Contact Mikenzie Frost at mbfrost@sbgtv.com.
